


Divide and Conquer

by Free_Spirit140



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Carlos-centric, Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2020-09-01 17:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20261881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Free_Spirit140/pseuds/Free_Spirit140
Summary: When Jay, Evie and Mal get chosen to go to Auradon leaving Carlos alone, Carlos decides he has two options: lie down and surrender to the isle, or put what his old friends taught him to good use.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to vulpecula25 for editing this for me! Please check her out!
> 
> Important: This fanfic does use what I call "Book Canon" as in, it uses stuff from the Isle of the Lost books, as well as things I've just made up. But, because I know not everyone has read the books, I will explain anything I think needs explaining in the notes before the chapter! And if you need anything explaining please do leave a comment!
> 
> I know most people associate Harry with Harry Hook, however Carlos also has a friend in the first book called Harry who is the son of one of Cruella's henchmen, I will be sure to make which Harry I am refering to very clear.

“You’ll be okay if you keep your head down,” Mal assured, standing with her back pressed to the wall in their hideout. Her arms were folded over her chest, one foot propped on the wall behind her so her leg was bent. To anyone that didn’t know her well it would be a convincing act, they would think she honestly couldn’t care less about the current situation; but the rest of the core four could see through it, not that they’d ever call her out on it. “Don’t worry about protecting the turf, it can go to the rats for all I give two shits. We’ll be off this hunk of rock soon enough, and I doubt some crap-shacks will equate to much then.”

Carlos nodded silently, trying and somehow succeeding in keeping up a mask of indifference as the others packed up their things around him.

“We won’t be gone long C,” Evie agreed, shoving a pillow and blanket into an old leather bag that was barely holding itself together despite all the stitching she had attempted to do, not that Carlos was all that surprised. The best thread she found went into making their clothes, repairs to non-essentials got whatever was left and crappy thread would only ever equate to crappy repairs. “We’ll be back so fast, Cruella won’t even have the chance to get you to clean half of her furs.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Carlos teased, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Okay,” Jay stated finally, standing up from where he was crouching over his belongings and shoving a torn-up green backpack at Mal before shouldering his own bin bag, “we should go before they come looking for us.”

Jay had never been one for words. Carlos nodded at the older boy as he clapped Carlos on the shoulder. His hand lingered there just long enough for the message to be clear: ‘Stay safe.’

“We’ll put in a good word for you,” Evie smiled, pulling Carlos away from Jay and into a hug, “try and bring you over sooner if our plans get held up.”

“Yeah,” Mal agreed, pushing off the wall so she could face Carlos head-on, “we might need our tech genius over there.”

“Might?” Carlos smirked, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t honestly think they just have the wand out in the open, do you? There are bound to be security measures.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Jay stated, ruffling Carlos’ hair and heading for the door. “Now let’s go.”

“Stay safe pup,” Mal said before following after Jay.

Carlos felt his lip quiver as he watched them leave, he hoped Evie hadn’t noticed but if the way she pulled him in for another hug was anything to go by she clearly had.

“We’ll be back for you, I promise,” she whispered into his hair.

“I know,” Carlos whispered back.

Evie nodded before pulling away and rushing after the others.

Leaving Carlos alone.

“I know,” Carlos whispered into the empty room.

…

“I choose good.” Mal’s voice was barely audible over the crackling of static from the old TV, but for Carlos, it was all he could focus on. Huddled in his treehouse, pressed so close to the glass his nose was nearly touching it, all in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his friends through the army of ants that paraded his television set. He internally cursed himself for not fixing the stupid thing sooner, he had known it was wonky months ago.

“I choose good, you guys!” Mal was smiling, he could make out that much, and it was enough to make him smile too. If she was happy on the good side then he would be happy for her. He never truly felt he belonged on this side of the barrier anyway.

Jay and Evie clearly felt the same way, throwing their hands into the centre of their three-person huddle, repeating the same sentence Mal had just uttered.

They would be back for him soon, he was sure of it. They had said they would put in a good word for him if their plans got held up, and he trusted them.

…

Trust on the isle was always something people discouraged. Carlos had followed that rule for the longest time, only putting trust in himself. Harry and Jace had been minor exceptions but they barely counted to him, it was obvious the other two would walk through the depths of hell for him from the day they met, even if that was only because they were the children of his mother’s henchmen. Carlos still put some trust in them.

No, the first true exceptions to that particular rule was Mal, Jay and Evie. And Carlos was starting to understand why that rule existed. Two months of waiting for his rescue had amounted to nothing, not even a crummy postcard, and he was officially sick of waiting.

He had done as told and surrendered the turf to the first sleaze bags that had shown an interest and, as expected, that had been Uma and her crew of pirates. He heavily regretted that move now. All that he had left was the small patch of land around the outside of Hell Hall, only maintaining that power thanks to everyone being too scared to even look at the crumbling mansion for fear of catching the eyes of Cruella. Having a bat-shit crazy lady as a mother had some advantages.

He glanced around his treehouse, mentally taking note of what supplies he had. He could start trading he supposed, although he would have to do so from his front lawn so his clientele would be limited to the few people that dared wander that close to Hell Hall. But he needed food, and to get that he needed some sort of power. He couldn’t keep living off of the scraps Cruella gave him from her own food, food which he had salvaged he bitterly remembered. Scraps had done him well enough until now, but they wouldn’t last him much longer.

“Carlos?” Harry’s voice called from under the treehouse.

Carlos huffed, moving towards the hatch and opening up so he could stare down at his henchman. Yes, henchman. He didn’t do ‘friends’ anymore.

The two were a comical sight, especially from directly above them. Spitting images of their parents Jasper and Horace, Jace towered over Harry, and was far skinnier than the other, although both were relatively skinny and bony. Just like nearly every other kid on the isle. Carlos had tried hard to understand how Harry appeared so much plumper than the other despite eating just as little, but he ended up settling on him just having bigger bones since it sure as hell wasn’t muscle.

“What?”

“Uma wants to meet with you!” Jace cut in, craning his neck back so he could make eye contact with Carlos.

“Tell her I told her to fuck off,” Carlos responded dryly, “just like the last twenty times she ‘summoned’ me.”

“I don’t know Carlos, Hook looked about ready to march down here himself last time we took that message back to them…” Harry muttered.

“Let him, Carlos stated. “I won’t let him up and I have a bunch of pretty dangerous chemicals up here and a great aim if he tries anything.”

“Don’t you think you should at least talk to her?” Jace asked, lip slipping between his teeth as he worried. “We’re kind of backed into a corner here… we’re out of options.”

Carlos hummed, looking towards the house where his mother was undoubtedly sleeping off her last drinking session. It was getting late, it was already dark, the rest of the Isle would be alive and bustling with people, he could probably risk sneaking out and blending in with the crowd. He glanced back into the treehouse, taking in his depleting supply of functioning motherboards. He nodded to himself, a plan already forming in his head.

Grabbing the broken rope ladder from the side of the hatch, Carlos hastily lowered it down towards his henchmen. 

“Harry, get up here and watch the treehouse. Jace, you’re coming with me.”

Harry hesitated for barely a second before starting up the ladder, Carlos stepping to the side so the shorter boy would be able to get through the hatch easier.

“Where are we going?” Jace asked nervously. “You’re finally going to meet them?”

“Fuck no!” Carlos scoffed. “We’re heading to that little bit of turf controlled by those minor league guys.”

“Like us?” Harry asked as he heaved himself through the hole and onto the solid floor of the treehouse.

“Not for long.” Carlos stated, not bothering to elaborate as he took Harry’s place on the ladder and climbed down. “Don’t let anyone up Harry,” Carlos ordered, “and don’t leave the treehouse for even a second.”

“Okay…” Harry looked like Carlos had just put far too much responsibility onto his shoulders but Carlos ignored his obvious worry.

Carlos led Jace around the side of Hell Hall and out into the street, glancing around every so often to make sure no pirates were hiding themselves in the shadows. It was risky, what Carlos was about to do, but it was necessary. He didn’t have anyone else protecting him now, he had to cover his own back, protect himself and get whatever he needed his own way. Even if that meant underhanded tricks, risky moves and exploitation. There was a reason he had skipped two years of Dragon Hall. It sure as hell wasn’t because he was dumb.

“Not to, uh, question your plans or anything,” Jace muttered after walking in silence for evil knows how long, “but, you do have a plan don’t you?”

“Of course.” Carlos nodded, keeping his head held high as he spared Jace a side glance. “I don’t rush into things without thinking.”

“I know, I know, but like, how long have you been planning this? Just for my own peace of mind.”

“About half an hour.” Carlos replied honestly, smirking at the way Jace momentarily froze. “Don’t worry, if things start going south you’re welcome to run for the hills.”

“You…” Jace bit his lip, eyes darting all around as he scoped out the few people that were starting to flicker around them as they got closer to the central plaza. “You really do know how to scare me, you know that?”

“Good,” Carlos stated, “no one ever gets anything by being friendly and pleasant.” He had learnt that the hard way.

The conversation lulled as they got into the more populated parts of the Isle. As expected, everything was loud and busy. A perfect atmosphere for blending into the background, shocking white hair or otherwise.

Carlos easily slipped into the crowd, Jace hot on his tail. The taller of the two clearly stood out more, his height an obvious disadvantage when trying to blend in with the malnourished and thus generally short population of the Isle, but that would eventually work to Carlos’ advantage. At least, that’s what he hoped. Matching the pace of a girl with a black beanie, Carlos made sure to stay close to her, not caring if he was noticed. He occasionally glanced back at Jace, making sure he was keeping up.

As expected the girl darted off of the main road and into a seemingly random back alley. Carlos smirked and shot out a hand behind him to grab Jace’s wrist, pulling him after her.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Jace squeaked.

“Good to know your instincts about danger are working. Don’t jump.” Carlos warned.

“Don’t wha-”

Carlos froze at the feeling of cold metal hitting the skin of his neck, an arm roughly wrapping around his upper body to hold him in place. Jace gave a tiny squeak next to him and a glance to the side found the other boy in the same situation.

Good. They were in the right place.

“You’re a little far away from Hell Hole de Vil,” the girl from the main street stepped out from around a corner, moving to stand in front of the trapped boys. “Why the fuck are you following me?”

This was fine. This was what he expected. He just had to hold his cool, just do what Mal had taught him to.

“You’re hard people to get hold of,” Carlos answered honestly, shrugging as much as he dared to when a sharp object was touching his skin. “We just wanted to talk to your boss.”

“Oh yeah?” The girl asked. “Then start talking, I can pass on the message.”

“Well,” Carlos began, “not that I don’t trust you or anything, although I’m sure you understand why I don’t, but I’d rather talk to someone higher up directly. And I’d rather not have a knife pointed at my throat whilst doing so.”

The girl scowled, making eye contact with the two boys currently holding Jace and Carlos. A silent conversation appeared to take place before her eyes, before finally settling back on Carlos.

“No games?”

“None at all, I have a proposition which could benefit both parties here.”

She stared at him for a minute longer before nodding and turning on her heels. “Fine. Let's go.”

The arms holding Jace and Carlos dropped immediately, and the weapons that had been held uncomfortably close to their windpipes were quickly stashed away. Carlos tried not to show his relief.

They followed at a rather fast pace, and for a second Carlos was hit by just how quickly things were moving considering he had only just started planning this. Carlos briefly wondered if this was how Mal used to get things done when she was in charge, quick planning and quick execution, or if she just rushed in.

He shook all thoughts of her out of his head instantly however, the only thing he even remotely wanted to remember about her was her lessons in seeming calm and collected. Straight back, head held high, indifference. You care about nothing and no one, you’re here for their sake and not your own, you don’t care how this turns out.

Evil this was going to take some getting used to.

He was led through the maze of back allies that seemed to go on forever, twisting one way and another, so much it was hard to keep track of where they had come from. Eventually, they were brought around the back of a metal building that looked in worse shape than most other buildings on the Isle, which was really a polite way of saying ‘it looked like shit’.

The ‘door’, if it could be called that, was a curtain covered in sloppily patched holes and the ‘walls’ were flimsy at best. But it had a roof and was sheltered, and that was far more than what most of the Isle’s population could find. Carlos couldn’t criticise them for finding the place and managing to keep it in their control. 

The inside was one large room with a floor laden with ripped up sacks and blankets, makeshift beds to the few children that laid sprawled upon them. Carlos turned away from them as the girl from before pointed at a spot on the floor.

“Sit.” She instructed. “I’ll get Halina.”

Jace moved to follow her instructions but Carlos quickly intercepted by clicking his fingers and shaking his head the second Jace’s attention was on him.

‘Stay standing, you’re more intimidating standing, don’t get comfortable.’ Mal’s voice rang in his head, accompanied by a quiet version of his own telling him if he was standing he could escape faster.

The girl eyed them for a second before walking out of sight. The two from earlier that had held Jace and Carlos remained, an unfriendly reminder that they weren’t welcome guests.

Carlos waited, arms folded across his chest, resisting the urge to shift from foot to foot or play with the dog tail attached to his belt to settle his nerves. ‘Don’t show nerves, don’t show weakness.’ Jay’s voice joined Mal’s in his head.

“This better be good de Vil!” A voice breached the silence as a girl with blue hair swept into the room, the girl from before right behind her.

“I promise it is,” Carlos stated. “Halina, I presume?”

“Cut the small talk, my time is valuable. Why are you here?” Halina turned, facing Carlos head-on, eyes shining with menace. Carlos resisted the urge to gulp at the noticeable height difference between the two of them and instead focused on mirroring her posture. The same way he had seen Mal mirror Uma’s many times before. He hoped Jace was standing behind him, and that the taller boy was at least trying to look intimidating, but he knew that was a long shot.

“I have a proposition for you and your group, I think you’ll like it.”

“How about you let me decide if I like it or not. Last I checked you aren’t exactly the most popular person on this junk heap right now and me forming deals with you might drag me down to your level.”

Carlos chewed the inside of his cheek in a way he hoped wasn’t noticeable to anyone else. He was already at a disadvantage enough thanks to his lack of manpower or turf to stake his name to, being one of the most hated people on the Isle simply because he used to be associated with the rogue daughter of Maleficent and her lackeys didn’t help his standing.

“What if I could promise you tradable goods?” Carlos asked. “Working televisions, fixed TV remotes, whatever you want.”

Halina cocked her head, looking Carlos up and down as though to scrutinise the reliability of his offer. “You don’t have that kind of stuff. Nothing around here washes up working. And if it did there is no way a runt like you would be able to get your hands on it.”

“Maybe not, but I’ve got a pretty great understanding of how stuff like that works, all I need is a few working parts to replace broken ones and I can mend anything. Within reason of course.”

“And I suppose you don’t have anything you can show me right now to prove that, do you?” Halina asked, eyeing him again.

“And risk someone taking it from my pockets before I got here?” Carlos scoffed. “Fat chance. But if you want proof, you’re welcome to walk back to Hell Hall with me so I can show you.”

“I’d have to be insane or stupid to go anywhere near that place.”

“Or have a death wish,” the other girl piped up from where she had taken a seat on the floor.

If looks could kill the glare she received in return for her comment would have killed her a hundred times over.

“Yes, thank you, Piper.” It was dripping with venom, a clear warning for the younger girl to keep her mouth shut. ‘Thank you’ only ever meant a threat, on the Isle.

“Then you’ll just have to believe me, won’t you?” Carlos smirked as Halina’s attention flew back to him. It might have been well hidden but there was definitely some shock there, that wasn’t the response she had been expecting.

Good, the momentary distraction had thrown her off balance.

Carlos could get used to this, it felt kind of good to throw people off like that. It felt powerful, almost.

“Suppose I did believe you,” Halina started, slipping her mask of indifference back into place, “what’s in it for you if I take you up on the offer?”

“Simple. I want the freedom to trade around here too. Without the risk of one of your people coming after me for it.”

“You think I’m stupid? If you’re trading around here then what’s the point of you giving us things to trade, huh?”  
Shit. He hadn’t thought of that.

“Fair point,” Carlos began, desperately trying to hide the panic going on in his head, “how about-”

“We’re done here.” Halina turned, moving back towards the exit. “I’m not wasting my time on some half thought out plan. Show them out!”

“I’ll just do repairs!” Carlos called quickly.

Halina froze. She paused for a second before looking over her shoulder at him. Carlos quickly schooled his features, internally cursing himself for the momentary slip-up caused by panic.

“Come again?”

“I’ll just do repairs in this area, in exchange for food, money, or whatever. That way I won’t be treading on any toes.”

Halina turned to face him again.

Okay Carlos, seal the deal.

“If something can’t be repaired for any reason I’ll send them directly to you for new ones, so long as your lot tell people where to go if things break.” Carlos waited for a second to allow his offer to settle in. As soon as Halina opened her mouth to respond he quickly added, “and any electronic parts your people find when they do barge runs come to me. I have to have those supplies if I want to make your things.”

Halina raised an eyebrow at him, stepping forwards as she did so. She removed one of her fingerless gloves before spitting into the palm of her hand, holding it out to him.

“You have a deal, De Vil.”

Carlos quickly hid his smile behind a smirk before taking her hand. He was immediately pulled closer.

“If you’re bullshitting me I will not hesitate to slit your throat.” She hissed into his ear.

“Same to you.” Carlos hissed back, keeping his cool despite his heart hammering madly in his chest.

They both pulled away, Halina turning immediately to the girl on the floor.

“Make sure they know how to get to us.” She instructed before turning back to Carlos. “You can pick up your parts here in two days, you can drop off whatever you’ve got for us then as well.”

Carlos nodded and Halina mimicked the action before turning on her heels and walking out.

Piper got to her feet, gesturing to the door for him to leave and after a glance at Jace he did so. Piper showed them the easiest route from the ‘HQ’, as she called it, to the outskirts of plaza closest to Hell Hall.

“I’ll be waiting here Wednesday, so you don’t get... lost.” There was a barely hidden threat there, and Carlos could tell she was serious with it. He nodded, still putting all his energy into keeping up his facade of indifference.

She left the way they had come and Carlos and Jace started the trek back to Hell Hall.

It hadn’t been the best deal Carlos would have liked to get, but it was quite possibly the best he would have gotten considering the current circumstances. At the very least he had brought himself a steady supply of parts, more than he would be able to find on his own, free movement in that area, and likely some form of protection if he proved himself a valuable enough ally for them. After all, they wouldn’t want their supplier getting hurt or mugged.

“I thought we were dead men,” Jace finally whined, breaking the silence. He was noticeably shaking now that Carlos got the chance to properly look at him. “Why’d you have to bring me along?!”

“You were supposed to be the intimidation factor!” Carlos snapped.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, Carlos, but I’m not exactly intimidation material. They’d snap me like a twig!”

“Then I guess that’s the next thing we have to work on.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to vulpecula25 for editing this for me! Please check her out!

“Carlos,” Harry whined, drawing out the ‘a’ and ‘s’ as he lowered himself down from another push-up, “why do we have to do this again?!”

“Because,” Carlos huffed, finally letting his body hit the floor and lay there until he regained his breath. “We can’t keep walking around looking like a walking, talking, wire if we’re on our own now.”

“You didn’t care about that before you were part of Mal’s group.” Jace pointed out quietly as he pushed up from where he had been sprawled star-fish into a sitting position.

Carlos sat up at once, throwing him a glare.

“I didn’t have a huge target on my back before then!” He pointed out. “I had to deal with, what? My mother? Bullies? Muggers? Just like everyone else. Now I’m dealing with an isle full of villains associating me with three traitors that failed to help them escape.”

“Can’t you just get that lot you struck a deal with last week to cover your ass for you?” Harry asked, joining the other two in sitting up.

“That wasn’t part of the deal, if they’re going to protect me, they have to be the ones to make that call and I can’t rely on that kind of uncertainty. Besides, they’re not exactly that big of an influence over the majority of the Isle, they can’t offer much protection outside of the market plaza in their area.”

“You should have met with Uma,” Jace stated, “even some of the adults are scared of her.”

“There’s no telling what Uma wanted with me,” Carlos pointed out, “if she wanted some kind of deal, which is doubtful honesty, I would have been guaranteed to have gotten the short end of the stick.”

“I suppose you’re not wrong there…” Jace conceded.

“Of course I’m not.”

“Why push-ups anyway?” Harry asked. “Why not something where I don’t have to keep face-planting into the mud?”

“Unless you fancy a trip into Uma’s territory to get those weights Jay left in the old hideout, then we’ll just have to make do with what we have, or don’t have in this case.”

“Alright,” Harry shivered at the idea, “I’ll stop complaining.”

“Good.” Carlos sighed, picking himself up off the floor. “I’ll see what I can do about this though, push-ups aren’t going to cut it in the long run.”

“Could we not just, I don’t know, lift something heavy instead of weights? We can get big ass buckets of water and use those instead?”

“We could,” Carlos conceded, “but that will only build up arm muscle, we need something more well rounded. I can try and get a hold of a book or something about fitness but I can’t promise I’ll find something.” Carlos sighed, turning away from the two and picking up his backpack from where he had left it on the floor. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to get an electric fan back to Lady Tremaine so we can eat something that isn’t scraps tonight.”

Carlos slipped around the side of Hell Hall and out onto the street, heading down the familiar path to the market. In the past week, he had walked this road countless times after doing his chores and after school. He had claimed a comfortable spot of his in the market, setting up shop between a woman selling a bunch of scrap metal she called jewellery and a man selling barely edible food.

His spot was down a rather busy road and was a pain in the ass to get to from Hell Hall but it paid off in the form of several small repair jobs already. They hadn’t been big, Carlos could have pulled them all off blindfolded if that would have increased his pay, but he made out that every single one had been problematic, securing him a little extra from each customer.

He passed through the crowd, keeping his head down as he pushed through multiple people before arriving at his usual spot. Lady Tremaine was waiting for him, foot tapping impatiently as she continued to scan the crowd, eyes finally catching him and narrowing to a glare. Carlos took a deep breath, readying himself to deal with the woman.

“Where have you been?” She demanded, tone level in a way that sent chills down Carlos’ spine. “I’ve been waiting here for an hour.”

“I didn’t give you a time,” Carlos sighed, moving past her so he was in the gap between the other stalls and out of the crowd, “and I told you I could just deliver it to your salon.”

“And have the likes of you and your atrocious hair seen anywhere near my business? I’d sooner die.”

“Why don’t you then,” Carlos mumbled, making sure she couldn’t hear him, he needed his money. He unzipped his bag, pulling out the table fan from inside and holding it out to her.

She took it, examining it with a critical eye before tucking it under her arm and reaching into a concealed pocket in her dress, pulling out two rusted metal coins and dropping them into his hand.

“This isn’t the amount we agreed!” Carlos protested, turning the coins over in his hand “We agreed five!”

“I compensated for the time you kept me waiting,” Tremaine stated, “you’re lucky you’re getting anything.”

“That’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair. Get over it.” Tremaine gave a final scowl before turning her back on the finger Carlos was giving her and moving back into the crowd.

Carlos growled, casting his eyes back to the coins in his hand, seething. Now, Carlos realised he had overcharged her to begin with, the fan had only had a problem with the fuse and replacing it had been easy, the part wasn’t even hard to get hold of, but two coins for the work he did? That was a straight-up insult. He stood to his full height, casting his eye down the road in the direction Tremaine had gone. Her salon was the other direction.

Carlos shouldered his bag, quickly merging with the crowd and heading the opposite way to Tremaine, a plan taking shape in his head.

Curl up and Dye was closed, as was usual during daylight hours. Tremaine’s regulars were the type that only emerged from their holes when the sun was fully set or just as it was rising. Despite the closed sign, there was nothing stopping Carlos pushing the rickety door open and heading inside, silently hoping that Anthony wasn’t loitering around his cousin today.

To his relief Dizzy was the only person inside the shop, sweeping away at some stray hairs that were covering the floor with her back towards him.

“Hey!” Carlos greeted, smirking when Dizzy spun on him, nearly dropping her broom from shock.

“Carlos!” She shrieked, placing her broom against the back of a chair and holding her heart. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Couldn’t resist,” Carlos smirked, “your dear old grandmother around?”

Dizzy playfully rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “No, she said she had some errands to run and that I should stay and clean up here.”

“Well,” Carlos pulled his bag off of his shoulders and headed for the table with the broken mirror that acted as the Salon’s workbench. “One of those errands appears to be ripping me off, I just came here to get what I’m owed.”

“Ripping you off?” Dizzy questioned, eyes widening a second later as the realisation hit her. “Oh no, Carlos, please! If any more money goes missing from the register this week she’ll have my head, I already had to pay the pirates and-”

Carlos spun on her, horror causing a stone to form in his stomach. “You’re in pirate territory?!”

Dizzy nodded dejectedly. “They’ve had this area for a couple months now, make me pay them money in exchange for protection.”

“Fuck Dizzy, couldn’t have told me that when I walked in?! I’m trying to avoid Uma right now!”

“I thought you knew!” Dizzy defended herself. “They weren’t exactly quiet about taking this place over, her entire crew was running a-mock!”

“Yeah well, I’ve basically been confined to home and school. Harry and Jace don’t make the best informants.” Carlos quickly cast his eyes over the contents of the table, scanning them and frantically trying to figure out his best course of action.

“What about Diego? Hasn’t he been keeping you in the loop?”

“Haven’t seen much of him,” Carlos admitted, internally kicking himself for not thinking of contacting his cousin for the latest news before now, his band was one of the biggest and best on the Isle, so he always knew what was going on. “Dizzy, which of these things do you use the most here?”

Dizzy wandered over, looking at everything on the table in front of Carlos. “The straighteners,” she stated finally, “ironic considering we're called Curl up and-”

“Yeah, I know, ha ha,” Carlos cut her off, picking up the straighteners and checking it over, “how many problems will this cause you if these go out of commission for a while?”

“I guess we won’t be able to take a few of the regulars for their normal appointments which would lose us some money and-”

“I’m not talking about the business,” Carlos interrupted the chatty girl. “I’m talking about you. Are you going to have to do more work if these stop working?”

Dizzy shook her head. “Less probably.”

“Perfect,” Carlos pulled out his screwdriver set from his bag “watch the door and shout if you see any of those fish brains.”

He worked quickly, screwing off the plastic casing and delving into the wires of the straighteners and quickly identifying several rusty components he could blame faults on, the number of things he could fix in these things could easily score him what Tremaine owed him and more.

“How well do these things work right now?” Carlos called to Dizzy who was pressed against the door, peeking out through a tiny hole in the wood.

“Well they take an hour to heat up,” Dizzy responded, “and the top plate doesn’t get as hot as the bottom one, but they still function and they’re the best you can get around here.” Dizzy giggled. “You know, one time Anthony told me that if I touched one of the plates when they were hot he would give me this lollipop he got from the barges, he didn’t know one didn’t get very hot and-”

Dizzy continued to ramble as Carlos worked, the older boy needing to snap at her every so often to keep her eyes on the street outside. He snipped a few wires, intentionally damaged one component that he knew he had a replacement for and then replaced the plastic, tossing the straighteners back onto the table with little care for where they ended up.

“Sorted,” Carlos stated effectively stopping Dizzy’s rambling in its tracks. “I was never here, understand?”

Dizzy turned away from the door and nodded “I understand. I didn’t think you were the type to do something like this though.”

“Gotta do what I need to to survive Diz,” Carlos stated, pocketing his screwdriver kit and picking his bag up from where he left it on the floor, “and I don’t appreciate people fucking me over.”

“Oh,” Dizzy mumbled, chewing her lip before locking eyes with Carlos. “Is this about Evie and-”

“If it is, it’s none of your business, is it?!” Carlos snapped, regretting it instantly when Dizzy took a small step back.

“They’ll come back Carlos,” Dizzy promised as if it was her place to. “They wouldn’t just leave us here.”

“Grow up Dizzy,” Carlos hissed, biting back the tell-tale sting behind his eyes, “you’re too old for fairy tales now.”

He pushed past her for the door, ignoring the hurt that filled her eyes and heading into the street. It was better for her to be told the truth now instead of letting her believe in impossible dreams for evil knows how long.

“Didn’t think I’d catch you crawling around these parts de Vil.”

Carlos cursed, spinning to his left in time to spot Uma, smirking at him like a cat that had finally caught up to its mouse.

“You been avoiding me, pup?”

“What makes you think that?” Carlos responded, fighting to control his racing heart and remain outwardly calm.

“You’ve been ignoring me in favour of making stingy deals with street rats.”

“What can I say,” Carlos shrugged, “they make better company.”

Uma raised an eyebrow in response, clearly taken aback by his remark. “The puppy grew teeth!” she smirked.

“Always had them just never had a reason to use them. Now cut to the chase, what do you want?”

“I should be asking you that question, you’re on my turf.”

“I can’t come to get my haircut without your permission Uma? Would’ve thought my business here would be helping your child exploitation in the long run.”

“Cut the shit, we both know you weren’t here for a haircut! Why are you in my turf de Vil?” Uma stepped closer to him as she asked the question, closing the gap.

“Just getting even with someone that ripped me off,” Carlos responded easily, surprising himself with how calm he managed to stay. “I’m sure you understand that?’

“Someone ripped you off?”

“Yeah, underpaid me for a patch-up job, not that that is any of your business.”

Uma hummed, eyeing Carlos for a second before turning on her heels and facing away from him.

“You’ve grown balls, Carlos, I like this new you.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Come with me.” She ordered before facing forward and strutting off.

“I’m not a dog on a leash, who says I have to do what you want?” Carlos called after her, not moving a step.

Uma paused her walking and turned to him again “I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.”

“Yeah, I don’t really go for promises,” Carlos responded.

“Don’t make me get my crew de Vil, they don’t much like fetching.”

“That,” Carlos started, already turning to leave, “sounds like a you problem.” 

He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy, and fear pooled in his stomach again as he came face to with a sword pointed just inches from his nose. A glance to the side confirmed the presence of another five swords, all pointed at him from every side but the side facing Uma.

Shit. When had that happened? 

“You may have grown balls de Vil, but you haven’t got the eyes you need if you want to come out on top around here.” Uma said, turning on her heels and walking the way she had previously been heading in.

The cold metal pressed into his back was all the convincing Carlos needed to follow, keeping his pace as slow as he could get away with whilst searching frantically for some means of escape. Unfortunately, there were none.

He was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr is Free-Spirit140, my Descendants blog is descendants-trash-140
> 
> Once again, pecial thanks to vulpecula25 for editing this for me! Her Tumblr is xxdancingwithdemonsxx Please check her out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr is Free-Spirit140, my Descendants blog is descendants-trash-140  
Special thanks to vulpecula25 for editing this for me! Her Tumblr is xxdancingwithdemonsxx Please check her out!
> 
> I hope everyone is keeping well and safe right now, I hope to update more concidering I have a lot of free time in lockdown now but we'll have to see!

Ursala's crap shack was as dingy as Carlos remembered it, faded green walls that looked more like paper than concrete holding up a tin roof with a sign that claimed it was a fish and chip shop. If you asked Carlos the place would do better calling itself a bar or a strip club since the usual customers preferred to use it for that.

A few drunks were skulking around the outside, yelling at the closed door as if their voices would cause it to magically open.

"Can't you pathetic lumps read?" Uma demanded, absently kicking one of the drunks that had positioned himself on the floor by the door "We're closed until 4, fuck off back to your holes until then!"

Curses were thrown her way but she ignored them in favour of unlocking the wooden door and holding it open for Carlos. He briefly wondered where Ursala found a working lock and key but a quick glance at the contraption confirmed it was one fashioned out of scraps.

"Company first."

"Does all your company get the joy of having swords pushed into their backs or am I just lucky?" Carlos asked, feeling one of swords make contact with his spine and force him forward into the slop shop.

"I'll get to the chase," Uma ignored him and dismissing the crew that had been guarding him with a wave of her hand. "You fix electrical things right?"

"Yeah," Carlos raised an eyebrow, "that's the deal I have going."

"Great. Fix that bucket of junk over there." Uma pointed to a corner of the room where what looked like an old electric heater was left to rust. "And I'll forget about you ignoring me for the last two months."

Carlos blinked, flicking his eyes from Uma to the heater and then back. "What?"

"Are you deaf as well as weak?" Uma demanded "I said fix that shit and then we're even."

"You-" Carlos shifted his eyes back to the heater, "you can't be serious? That's all you want?"

"What else would I want from you?" Uma asked, grabbing a chair from one of the nearby tables and swinging her leg over it so she was sitting on it backwards.

"I don't know, to bash my head in? To tie me to an anchor and throw me into the sea? To try and use me as a bargaining chip to get to Mal?"

Uma threw her head back in an exaggerated cackle. "Is that why you've been avoiding and ignoring me de Vil?"

Carlos shrugged, caught off guard by just how relaxed Uma seemed.

"Hades you think highly of yourself," Uma laughed, "let me get something straight de Vil, I don't blame you for the stunt the princess pulled. The way I see it you're as much the victim as the rest of us, you've been left to rot as well. Anyone on this pile of rags that says otherwise is as thick as Dee and Dumb."

Carlos blinked again, trying to process the new information.

"You forget that I've been kicked to the curb by that damn fairy as well, you know. If I held you accountable for her actions I'd be hypocritical, don't you think?"

"I guess..." Carlos muttered. "So you seriously only wanted me here so I could fix your heater?"

"Yep." Uma grinned at him. "The old hag has been screaming about it for months and I heard from one of the Dragon Hall fuckers that hangs around here that you are pretty good with that kind of shit. Of course you were Mal's little lap dog so I wasn't too keen on the idea of going to the enemy. But," Uma smirked again as she stood, "we aren't enemies anymore are we?'

Carlos blinked at her, risking looking into her eyes so he could scan them for any hint of a lie. "I'm not paying your protection money if that's what you're fishing for."

"Of course not!" Uma laughed again. "Protection money only applies to people living or trading on my turf and I'm not exactly desperate to take over Cruella's place."

"So… I don't have to walk around watching my back for your crew anymore?"

"Unless you want to be watching your back twenty-four seven." Uma shrugged. "You can do whatever you want here. You can walk around my turf as much as you like, you can eat here, you can drink here, you can even hook up with my crew if all participating parties so desire. You could even trade around here for a price. And hey, if you ever want to get in on one of my 'Down with the princess' planning sessions, there is always a seat at the bar. We're a lot alike Carlos. Those of us with knives in our back should stick together."

There was something wicked in Uma's eyes, shining as she rested her chin on her hands which she had rested on the back of the chair. After making eye contact with her for long enough he was able to determine what it was. Hatred. It wasn't directed at him though, and there would be no prize for guessing who it actually was directed at. She wasn't hard to read and it was a refreshing change of pace.

The enemy of my enemy is my ally, he supposed.

"Right. We should." He agreed tentatively.

"We aren't friends of course, this is the Isle after all, but we aren't enemies either."

"Of course." Carlos paused for a second, a new thought passing through his head that he had to voice. "I'm not joining your crew either."

Uma threw her head back in another over-exaggerated laugh. It was getting ridiculous now, how could anyone laugh that much?

"I wasn't inviting you de Vil! You don't have what it takes to be a pirate, even if you have grown teeth since the lizard left you alone." She cackled one more time, the few members of her crew that had bothered to hang around joined in. He scowled at the implication but he couldn't deny it. Uma's laugh trickled off until her eyes settled back on Carlos. "Now, go fix that hunk of junk before I push it and you into the harbour!"

Carlos could tell it was an empty threat so he didn't hesitate to smirk at her and respond. "Good thing I can swim then right?" He picked up his tools and headed over to the broken heater.

He set to work on the device, unscrewing the battered and beaten casing and scowling at several particularly nasty dents. Nothing was brought to the Isle working but if this had been in this state when it got there he was surprised it ever worked at all.

"What did you do, go at it with a hammer?" Carlos asked, turning to look over his shoulder at Uma who had moved from her chair to drape herself over the throne that sat in the centre of the stage. Carlos had seen some of the things the 'performers' did on that thing and he could safely say Uma had more balls than him if she was willing to sit in it just for the sake of feeling a little powerful.

"Nah," Uma responded, not even looking at him as she snapped her fingers at a girl who was wiping down the bar. "If I see a single bloodstain on that when you're finished I will personally add your blood to the mix." She barked out before turning to Carlos and finishing her answer as if she was never interrupted. "Harry got pissed at it when it stopped working and took a sword to it. Turns out Hook can't handle the cold."

"Lies and slander!" Carlos' eyes shot to the door, finding Harry Hook himself standing in the doorway, leaning dramatically against the doorframe as if he were Hades himself. One of the would-be customers seemed to think the open doorway meant he could finally get off the floor and head in but instead received an absentminded kick to the face. "I'll have you know I can handle the cold just fine thank you! What I can't handle is the old sea-bitch's constant hollering."

Carlos quickly cast his eyes back to the heater, trying to figure out where he was meant to even start with the mess that was the wiring in this thing. Harry Hook was, by every definition of the word, eccentric. Even by villain standards. He was also very loud. Carlos wasn't a very big fan of loud. From his experience loud usually meant pain was right around the corner and with Harry Hook pain usually meant a hook in your eye. He needed to wrap this up quickly.

"So, you finally showed up wee one?" Carlos resisted the urge to growl at the nickname as footsteps approached and a hook found its way to his shoulder. "You are mighty hard to track down you know. Had me chasing my tail a lot looking for you."

"Harry quit bothering him and let him work," Uma ordered. "Or do you want me telling my old woman that you're the reason people are complaining about the cold tonight?"

"No Captain!" The hook quickly left Carlos' shoulder and Carlos resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

He prodded around the wiring a little more, careful not to damage it any more than the blows to the weak metal already had before sighing and pulling away.

"I'm going to need a whole bunch of parts from the house," he started, standing upright and dusting himself off before turning to face Uma. "I've figured out what stopped it working in the first place but there's damage to the wiring that most likely came from a sword impacting the weak spots."

"You hear that Harry? You're the reason the dumb thing stopped working!" Uma snapped, shoving Harry off the armrest of the throne that he had previously been sitting on.

"No," Carlos quickly rushed out, although he really wasn't sure why he was jumping to defend the pirate, "well, I mean, he didn't exactly help, but the main cause is probably the water damage to a couple of the components and the salt corrosion on some of the others. The protective metal isn't in the best shape so someone probably just rested wet clothes on there a few too many times and the water finally got inside."

"Right," Uma said, nodding as she whacked Harry when he tried to get back onto the armrest. "Go get the stuff, Hook." Harry quickly scampered off into a back room and Carlos picked up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and making for the exit until Uma called him back. "You don't need to go de Vil. We probably have what you need here."

"I highly doubt-" Harry reemerged before he could finish his sentence, heading right for Carlos and holding out a particularly large basket of electrical components and devices to him as if he was presenting him with pure gold. Well, to Carlos it might as well have been.

"Any of those what you need?" Uma asked from her throne.

"H-how did you? Why do you?" Carlos moved his eyes between the basket and Uma as the girl chuckled quietly, not missing the way Harry was smirking in the corner of his vision.

"The first plan was to try and fix the thing ourselves but when we didn't even know how to get in we gave up. Then we heard about your deal with the rats and decided to try and smoke you out by taking your resources and offering you them in return." Uma was failing to keep the sly smirk off her face as she leant forward, propping her elbows on her knees and her chin on her folded hands. "My crew are pretty friendly with the barge goblins, fellow sea lovers and all, so we usually get first call on stuff the second it comes in."

Carlos blinked a couple of times before carefully moving to the basket and wading through the contents. Several phones, a portable fan, wiring and motherboards that looked basically undamaged, this was like a treasure trove for him.

"Take whatever you need to fix the heater. If you want the rest I'm sure we can strike up some kind of deal, don't you think?"

He had to play this right. Not too eager, not too uninterested. "Yeah. I think we can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr is Free-Spirit140, my Descendants blog is descendants-trash-140  
Once again, special thanks to vulpecula25 for editing this for me! Her Tumblr is xxdancingwithdemonsxx Please check her out!
> 
> Stay safe everyone!!

**Author's Note:**

> My Tumblr is Free-Spirit140, my Descendants blog is descendants-trash-140
> 
> Once again, pecial thanks to vulpecula25 for editing this for me! Her Tumblr is xxdancingwithdemonsxx Please check her out!


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